“Say to the
Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are
to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly
commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular
work, but present a food offering to the Lord.’” (Leviticus 23:23–25)

Today is one of the holiest days of the Jewish
year: Rosh
HaShanah (Head of the Year) — the
beginning of the Jewish year 5777.

Since this holy day is considered a Sabbath, no work is
done. All over Israel and around the world, the Jewish People
are attending services in local synagogues.

Biblically, this celebration is known as Yom Teruah(Feast of Trumpets).

Last night as the holiday began, selichot (prayers
for forgiveness) intensified; and this morning, the shofar (ram’s
horn or trumpet) is being
sounded about 100 times, depending upon the community's
tradition.

It will continue to be sounded throughout this holiday
season.

Round challahs at Jewish New Year have
become a widespread custom in many
communities, as their shape symbolizes the
yearly cycle. Some add raisins or even sprinkle
these loaves with icing sugar to symbolize the
sweetness of the new year.

First and Second
Day Customs

This holiday is a feast; therefore, it is customary for
families to gather for a holiday meal that begins
with the blessingover two round challahs
(egg bread) dipped in honey.

The challah is round to represent completeness, the
continuity of creation and the omnipresence of God, as well as
the yearly cycle.

Right afterward, apple slices are dipped in honey. This
simple tradition conveys the
hope that the coming year will be sweet and free of
sorrow.

In another tradition, a
special ceremony calledTashlich (casting
off) will be performed today.

This ritual involves symbolically casting off sin. To do
this, bits of bread and other food will be tossed into a body
of water, such as a stream, river, lake, pond or sea, which
will carry them away. As we toss them, we recite Micah
7:18–19 and other verses.

“Who
is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives
the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do
not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will
again have compassion on us; You will tread our
sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths
of the sea.” (Micah 7:18–19)

Rabbi performing Tashlich on the
Israeli
coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Tonight as the sun goes down, the second night of
Rosh HaShanah will begin, and many will observe the
tradition of serving a fruit that has just come into season.

This fruit is often the pomegranate, since it comes into
season in Israel around this time.

According to Jewish tradition, the pomegranate has 613
seeds, which is the same number of mitzvot (commandments) in
the Torah.

The following blessing called the Shehecheyanu (Who Has
Given Us Life) is recited before eating the fruit:

Blessed are You,
Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive,
sustained us, and brought us to this season. Amen.

Shofar, tallit (prayer shawl), and a pomegranate

The Shofar

“On the first day of the
seventh month you are to have a day of rest [Shabbaton],
a sacred assembly [mikreh
kodesh] commemorated with trumpet blasts [Zichron
Teruah].” (Leviticus 23:24)

In Leviticus 23:24, Rosh HaShanah is called Shabbaton Zichron
Teruah, which is translated as a special Sabbath holiday
of remembrance with the blasting of the shofar.

That is why a central
observance of this holy day is the
sounding of the shofar, which heralds God as King of
the Universe. The shofar played a role when He
came to the Israelites in a dense cloud at Mount Sinai.

There in His presence, on the morning of the third day,
three months after they left Egypt, amidst booming thunder and
flashes of lightning, the shofar sounded.

We can only imagine the intensity of the scene.
It was so powerful that "everyone
in the camp trembled.” (Exodus 19:16)

Who blew the shofar from that thick cloud on Mount Sinai
with all the people of Israel gathered below? Was it an angel
of the Lord or did Elohim—God Himself—blow the shofar?

A Jewish man blows the long shofar, which is fashioned
from the horn of a
greater kudu (southeastern African antelope) in the
Yemenite Jewish style,
at the Western (Wailing) Wall.

The shofar is an
instrument of great spiritual significance.

The purpose of the sound of the shofar is to awaken God’s
people out of their spiritual slumber, to cause them to see
the signs of the times, and to remind them to examine the
spiritual condition of their lives.

This is the message of teshuvah (repentance), which in Hebrew
literally means to return.
Teshuvah, therefore, is turning from our sins and returning to
God.

So, why do we blow the shofar on Yom Zichron Teruah?
Although we know it is a commandment, the reasons are not
specifically stated.

"On the first day of
the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular
work. It is a day for you to
sound the trumpets [Yom Teruah]."
(Numbers 29:1)

Young boy blowing a shofar made from a ram's horn.

Occasions to Blow
the Shofar

In the Biblical times of Israel,
the shofar was blown for several reasons:

To mark the
arrival of a new moon;

To celebrate
a simcha (joyous
occasion);

To proclaim liberty
to the captives;

To hail a
king at his coronation;

To warn of
impending judgment;

To gather troops
to battle;

To sound an
alarm;

To call a
sacred assembly and time of fasting;

To confuse the
enemy camp; and

To draw God’s
attention.

We find examples of these purposes in the prophecies of
Joel:

Sounding the Shofar
as an Alarm

“Blow
the trumpet [shofar]
in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy
mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for
the day of the Lord comes, for it is close at
hand; a day of darkness and gloominess ....

“Tear
your heart, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord,
your God; for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending
calamity." (Joel 2:1–2, 13\

“Abraham said, ‘God will
provide Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’” (Genesis
22:8)

Since the shofar is a ram’s horn, it may be
understood to represent God’s mercy as demonstrated
in the Book of Genesis when God spared the life of Isaac.

In obedience to God’s command, Abraham had prepared to
offer up his son on the altar as a sacrifice; however, true to
Abraham’s faith, God stayed His hand and provided a
ram caught in the thicket for the sacrifice (Genesis
22).

Although some may blow the ram's horn (shofar) to remind
us of God’s mercy to Abraham, God has revealed His mercy to us
even more so through Yeshua (Jesus).

He did not spare the life of His only Son, Yeshua, but
gave it up for us in order that our names may be written in
the Book of Life (Romans 8:32).

With this in mind, it is
entirely fitting that we, along with the entire household of
Israel, greet one another at this season with the
traditional blessing: May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life!

"Nothing impure will ever
enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's
book of life."
(Revelation 21:27, see also Revelation 3:5; Exodus 32:32;
Psalm 139:16)

The Torah passage read at Rosh HaShanah, with the
pertinent
section, Leviticus 23:23–26, in sharpest focus.

The Shofar in Warfare

“So the people
shouted, and the priests blew thetrumpets [shofarot].It happened, when the people
heard the sound of the trumpet
[shofar], that the people shouted with a great
shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went
up into the city, every man straight before him, and they
took the city.” (Joshua 6:20)

The Bible contains many references to the shofar
being used in battle; for instance, in the Book of
Joshua, we read that Joshua and his Israelite army took the
enemy city of Jericho with the sounding of the shofarot (plural of
shofar).

In another example found in the Book of Judges, Gideon and
his small band of men blew their shofarot and gained a victory
over the Midianites
(Judges 7:19–25).

“When the three hundred
trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the
camp to turn on each other with their swords.”
(Judges 7:22)

The Taking of Jericho, by James Tissot

How does this relate
to us, as people of the God of Israel today?

God’s promise in the Book of Numbers to deliver
His people when they blow the shofar in battle is still
applicable:

“When you go to war
in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then
you shall sound an alarm with thetrumpets [shofarot].
Then you will be remembered
before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your
enemies.” (Numbers 10:9)

Today, the shofar is being re-discovered as a powerful
instrument of spiritual warfare.

For that reason, it is blown not only in Jewish synagogues
during the High Holy Days, but also in Messianic Jewish
Congregations and Christian Churches all over the world as a
declaration of spiritual warfare.

Believers sometimes sound the shofar as a declaration of
spiritual warfare.

The Shofar of
Impending Judgment

In chapter eight of the Book of Revelation, judgment
begins with the blast of the shofar — and
the earth is struck with plagues reminiscent of those in
Egypt:

“The
first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and
fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the
earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the
trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned
up.” (Revelation 8:7)

The blasts of the shofar will also herald the return of
Yeshua (Jesus) and the resurrection of the dead: Yeshua the Messiah will return with
a shout and the "shofar call of God."

“For
the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a
commanding shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
shofar call of God, and the dead in Messiah will
rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

In First Corinthians, the resurrection of the dead in
Messiah is also connected with the last shofar blast:

“Behold,
I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trumpet [shofar]. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

The seventh and final shofar that we read about in
the Book of Revelation will sound when Yeshua
returns. It will hail Him as King Messiah.

The Shofar Hailing
King Messiah

“The seventh
angel sounded, and great voices in heaven
followed, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the
Kingdom of our Lord, and of His Messiah. He will reign
forever and ever!’” (Revelation 11:15)

The eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation reveals
that Yeshua will be hailed as King with the sounding
of the seventh and final shofar.

As the time for the
sounding of that seventh shofar draws ever nearer,
we ask that you help us to sound the shofar of
liberty to captive Israel and proclaim King Messiah Yeshua
to the Jewish People.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord
comes, for it is close at hand.” (Joel 2:1)

Honey and apple, foods traditionally served at Rosh
HaShanah,
symbolize the desire for a sweet new year.

Please help us spread the Good News this Rosh HaShanah
(Yom Teruah) in Israel that Yeshua is the Messiah and He is
returning soon.

You can SOUND THE TRUMPET IN ZION
today
on Rosh HaShanah

"Be sure to set
aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year." (Deuteronomy 14:22)